Game Details

Like Splatoon and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo's Arms takes an established genre—in this case, the classic one-on-one fighting game—and turns it on its head. Gone are the side-on views, fast close-quarters combat, and complex combos adopted by almost every fighting game since the debut of Capcom's seminal Street Fighter II in 1991.

In their place is a bold mix of long-range, third-person combat played at a strategic pace far removed from the split-second timing and dexterous button bashing typical of the genre. There are even motion controls that not only work with surprising accuracy, but are more appealing than their tactile counterparts.

Having been burned by motion-controlled flops like the Kinect-powered Fighters Uncaged, or even Nintendo's own notoriously shallow Wii Sports Boxing, I'm surprised that Arms' motion controls work as well as they do. More surprising is that, despite the motion controls and Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic, Arms is a game of boundless depth. Even now, after hours spent swinging wildly at a television, I have barely scratched the surface of what it has to offer. Arms isn't a button-masher (or arm-flailer) for the casual crowd, but a complex fighter for those with a steady hand and the patience for betterment.

In short, Arms is utterly brilliant.

Everyone wants a slinky

In some ways, Arms is too complex for beginners, although it does its best to outline the basics. There are 10 colourful characters to choose from, with such distinctive names as Spring Man, Twintelle, and Kid Cobra. Each is equipped with a pair of the titular spring-loaded Arms (or hair), on which are perched a variety of accessories. Some look like boxing gloves, others like miniature missile launchers. There are boomerangs that can turn on a sixpence in midair, great big wrecking balls dubbed "Megawatt" that shock opponents with sparks of electricity, and a cybernetic "Dragon" that fires a long-distance laser.

Choosing which accessories to equip is the first in what is a long list of strategic choices to make before throwing a punch. Powerful ones tend to move slowly, giving opponents time to evade an attack. Yet, when paired with a spritely character like Ninjara—who can disappear in mid-air, much to the confusion of opponents—heavier ones are rendered more mobile. And what of distance? Arms, with its spring-loaded fists that reach across the ring, is a long-distance fighter, but there are variances in both accessories and the fighters themselves. Or what about agility? Or strength? Or the character-specific moves like Ribbon Girl's double jump, Master Mummy's health regeneration, or Twintelle's ability to slow down time?

Arms has a quirky cast of characters.

Some quirkier than others.

Arms has the look of a Saturday morning cartoon.

But it has the depth of a true fighting game.

Picking the right accessories is key to winning fights.

And, there are a lot to unlock.

Items like exploding bombs can change the course of battles.

As too can special Rush attacks.

Finish on a Rush and you're treated to some flashy visuals.

Attacks can be curved by tilting the Joycon.

You meet this guy later on in the game. He's very mean.

Such is the depth of choice that Arms doesn't even try to explain it all. That certain accessories have an elemental attack attached to them—the usual array of ice, fire, electricity, etc.—remained a mystery to me until I dived into the practice mode after hours of play. It doesn't even tell you the basic rock-paper-scissors mechanic that a throw can be countered by punch, a punch by a block, and a block by a throw. In some ways, Arms' instructional brevity is an extension of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's sparse, but cleverly constructed first hour, or Super Mario Bros.'s seminal first level, both of which aim to teach players without explicit hand-holding.

Arms' brevity isn't as successful. Without deeper instruction, you're left battling the AI and online players, both of which (even on easy settings) put up a substantial challenge. There is, however, a less than obvious help menu that offers more details on characters, modes, and the controls, as well as some more advanced tips and tricks. There's also a practice mode that teaches some advanced techniques. Those that want to learn more than just the basic controls exposed by the brief tutorial would do well to give them a look.

The tutorial focuses on motion controls, asking you to place a Joycon in each hand sideways and upright, with a thumb hovering over the shoulder button. You tilt the Joycons left or right to move around the ring, tilt them inwards to guard, tap the left shoulder button to dash, the right shoulder button to jump, and the press the right trigger to activate a Rush attack (which, like in Street Fighter is only available after filling a small attack gauge with well-timed punches). Punching forward naturally sends a fist flying, while punching with both fists at the same time launches a grab attack.

Enlarge/ With the default motion controls, the Joycon are held sideways.

The instinct when facing down a fearsome foe is to punch fast and often. However, as Nintendo puts it, "if you flail, you will fail." Arms isn't about landing as many punches as is feasibly possible, but rather about precise, measured punches thrown when there is a clear opening. This might be when an opponent throws a punch that doesn't land, or when you correctly anticipate the direction of a dash. But punches aren't just straight, unless you want them to be; they can be twisted and curled to various degrees by tilting the Joycon. As imprecise as that may sound, it's anything but.

The motion controls are impressively accurate, to the point that playing with a more traditional setup—in which punches are tilted with the left analogue stick—just doesn't feel right. There's a nuance to the motion controls that's missing from the analogue stick, allowing for the launch of late twists and turns that can throw an opponent off guard. The only limitation to the motion controls is the wobbly lump of flesh operating them: after a hour of so of sweaty non-stop punching, it's tough to maintain the same level of enthusiasm and accuracy as when you started.

In some ways, Arms is too complex for beginners, although it does its best to outline the basics. There are 10 colourful characters to choose from, with such distinctive names as Spring Man, Twintelle, and Kid Cobra. Each is equipped with a pair of the titular spring-loaded Arms (or hair), on which are perched a variety of accessories. Some look like boxing gloves, others like miniature missile launchers. There are boomerangs that can turn on a sixpence in midair, great big wrecking balls dubbed "Megawatt" that shock opponents with sparks of electricity, and a cybernetic "Dragon" that fires a long-distance laser.

I believe those accessories such as the Slapamander and Toaster are the titular "Arms" while the springy appendages are just their (lower case) arms(or hair).

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There's a noticeable drop in visual fidelity with four players on-screen—Nintendo has opted to keep the game running as close to 60FPS as the Switch can handle—but otherwise it makes for some fabulously wild battles.

Are you sure four player was 60fps? Digital Foundry did an analysis of gameplay footage and determined single player was 60 fps at 1080p(or 900, I don't remember which), 2 player was 60fps at the next step in resolution down(eitehr 900 or 720), and four player was the same resolution as 2 player, but at 30fps(screen was refreshed 60 times a second, but split, so the left side was refreshed every even frame and the right side refreshed every odd frame, for an effective 30fps). It could have been updated since that footage was shown though.

Again, this was based on footage and not the final game, but Digital Foundry's analysis tracked the game in one and two player modes at a solid 60fps with no frame pacing issues. I'm sure they'll release a more detailed look now that they have the retail game.

It really grinds my gears when the fighting game developers don't include full tutorials. New players need these things to understand what's going on, and how to maximize their play. Fighting games might be all fun and flash when you start, but eventually you play those people that really know what they're doing, and if you don't know what you don't know, how can you hope to compete with them?

I really had no interest in this game based on the demo videos from Nintendo. Sounds like I was wrong. I was going to wait for the new Mario before deciding if I'll get a Switch, but with Zelda, Mario Kart, Splatoon 2 around the corner, and now this, I may just pull the trigger.

The rate of release of top notch games has been pretty good. I'm curious what Nintendo will launch between Splatoon 2 and the new Mario.

I really had no interest in this game based on the demo videos from Nintendo. Sounds like I was wrong. I was going to wait for the new Mario before deciding if I'll get a Switch, but with Zelda, Mario Kart, Splatoon 2 around the corner, and now this, I may just pull the trigger.

The rate of release of top notch games has been pretty good. I'm curious what Nintendo will launch between Splatoon 2 and the new Mario.

Pokkén Tournament DX looks like the next game Nintendo will publish for it unless they have any digital only releases they'll surprise us with.

There's a noticeable drop in visual fidelity with four players on-screen—Nintendo has opted to keep the game running as close to 60FPS as the Switch can handle—but otherwise it makes for some fabulously wild battles.

Are you sure four player was 60fps?

To clarify: Four characters on the screen, when playing by yourself, brings the fidelity down slightly while mostly sticking to 60FPS refresh. 4p SPLIT-SCREEN, on the other hand, runs at a locked 30 FPS refresh.

There's a noticeable drop in visual fidelity with four players on-screen—Nintendo has opted to keep the game running as close to 60FPS as the Switch can handle—but otherwise it makes for some fabulously wild battles.

Are you sure four player was 60fps?

To clarify: Four characters on the screen, when playing by yourself, brings the fidelity down slightly while mostly sticking to 60FPS refresh. 4p SPLIT-SCREEN, on the other hand, runs at a locked 30 FPS refresh.

I really had no interest in this game based on the demo videos from Nintendo. Sounds like I was wrong. I was going to wait for the new Mario before deciding if I'll get a Switch, but with Zelda, Mario Kart, Splatoon 2 around the corner, and now this, I may just pull the trigger.

The rate of release of top notch games has been pretty good. I'm curious what Nintendo will launch between Splatoon 2 and the new Mario.

Pokkén Tournament DX looks like the next game Nintendo will publish for it unless they have any digital only releases they'll surprise us with.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is still planned for 2017. Hopefully we'll hear a date next Tuesday. The Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle appears to be real and likely 2017.

Retro Studios is due (hopefully) to premiere their next game, though that I would guess would be a 2018 release.

I really had no interest in this game based on the demo videos from Nintendo. Sounds like I was wrong. I was going to wait for the new Mario before deciding if I'll get a Switch, but with Zelda, Mario Kart, Splatoon 2 around the corner, and now this, I may just pull the trigger.

The rate of release of top notch games has been pretty good. I'm curious what Nintendo will launch between Splatoon 2 and the new Mario.

Pokkén Tournament DX looks like the next game Nintendo will publish for it unless they have any digital only releases they'll surprise us with.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is still planned for 2017. Hopefully we'll hear a date next Tuesday. The Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle appears to be real and likely 2017.

Retro Studios is due (hopefully) to premiere their next game, though that I would guess would be a 2018 release.

The amazing thing to me is that with the turnover Retro has had since Metroid Prime was published (part of the reason 2 and 3 each feel different is key positions inside the company changed hands) they might not even be the studio tasked with developing a new Metroid game.

I really had no interest in this game based on the demo videos from Nintendo. Sounds like I was wrong. I was going to wait for the new Mario before deciding if I'll get a Switch, but with Zelda, Mario Kart, Splatoon 2 around the corner, and now this, I may just pull the trigger.

The rate of release of top notch games has been pretty good. I'm curious what Nintendo will launch between Splatoon 2 and the new Mario.

Pokkén Tournament DX looks like the next game Nintendo will publish for it unless they have any digital only releases they'll surprise us with.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Fire Emblem Warriors still have a 2017 release date.

I wouldn't hold your breath. Nintendo says their E3 Spotlight will be about games coming to Switch and 3DS in the remainder of 2017. People should believe them. I expect little to no surprises, except for the Rabbids thing which was supposed to be a surprise but everyone has known about since November. If there are surprises it will be smaller eShop type titles and ports of Indie games.

If they've got Arms June, Splatoon 2 July, Rabbids August, Pokken September, Fire Emblem Warriors October, Mario November, and Xenoblade December, their publishing schedule is pretty packed, not even counting the 3DS Pokemon, Ever Oasis, and its own Fire Emblem Warriors port. Whatever game or games Retro are developing, if they were ready to be shown I think Nintendo would have shown them in some form by now. They no longer use E3 for dropping surprise bombshells, they just use it to push out as much information on their projects scheduled for near release as they can with live demo streams.

Certainly enjoyed the Test Punch weekend, so I ordered this. There may not be a lot of games on the Switch yet, but the ones out there are high quality. And I'll take that any day of the week.I'm also anxiously awaiting Shaq Fu Remastered (and for free for NBA Playgrounds owners!)

I really had no interest in this game based on the demo videos from Nintendo. Sounds like I was wrong. I was going to wait for the new Mario before deciding if I'll get a Switch, but with Zelda, Mario Kart, Splatoon 2 around the corner, and now this, I may just pull the trigger.

The rate of release of top notch games has been pretty good. I'm curious what Nintendo will launch between Splatoon 2 and the new Mario.

Pokkén Tournament DX looks like the next game Nintendo will publish for it unless they have any digital only releases they'll surprise us with.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Fire Emblem Warriors are both still slated for 2017. Hopefully we get release dates with E3, but if Nintendo can stick to the 'one major release per month in 2017' goal for its IP, we'll probably see one of those in August and the other in October.

Q3 is going to be interesting too, given that is when the bigger third party games come out. FIFA 18 and Skyrim I will be interested to follow from a sales perspective. A gimped but portable version of the world's most popular sports video game, and an old but very highly rated port. Also Monster Hunter XX port in Japan.

I really had no interest in this game based on the demo videos from Nintendo. Sounds like I was wrong. I was going to wait for the new Mario before deciding if I'll get a Switch, but with Zelda, Mario Kart, Splatoon 2 around the corner, and now this, I may just pull the trigger.

The rate of release of top notch games has been pretty good. I'm curious what Nintendo will launch between Splatoon 2 and the new Mario.

Pokkén Tournament DX looks like the next game Nintendo will publish for it unless they have any digital only releases they'll surprise us with.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is still planned for 2017. Hopefully we'll hear a date next Tuesday. The Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle appears to be real and likely 2017.

Retro Studios is due (hopefully) to premiere their next game, though that I would guess would be a 2018 release.

MH XX comes August 25th in Japan. Ideally a world wide release won't be too far behind it, hopefully we hear more at E3.

Monster Hunter is the system seller for me and I know it will be for many other people. I know a few who already bought a switch simply anticipating it.

But where can I find this quasi-mythical console called the Switch? I see displays everywhere, but no devices. And I only see Switch accessories on Amazon?

Switch is in stock on Amazon right now. It's at a markup, but it is in stock

And Shopko. And I'm betting over the next day or two it'll pop up in several other stores again as the UPS/FedEx shipments could hit retailer distribution centers on Monday or Tuesday, then the retailer has a day or two in transit to stores.

No you still can't walk in to a store at any time and pick one up. But they're shipping a lot of them and it isn't hard to see the pattern.

MH XX comes August 25th in Japan. Ideally a world wide release won't be too far behind it, hopefully we hear more at E3.

Monster Hunter is the system seller for me and I know it will be for many other people. I know a few who already bought a switch simply anticipating it.

Monster Hunter XX just might be releasing worldwide on the same day as the Japanese Switch version's release. E3 would be a good time to announce it.

Note how XX on the Switch releases on an unusual day of the week (Friday, instead the usual Saturday release for X, 4G, 4, Stories, etc.) and by then Capcom will have had plenty of time to localize the text that's already present in the 3DS version of XX.

It really grinds my gears when the fighting game developers don't include full tutorials. New players need these things to understand what's going on, and how to maximize their play. Fighting games might be all fun and flash when you start, but eventually you play those people that really know what they're doing, and if you don't know what you don't know, how can you hope to compete with them?

I dunno. To me, the exploration and discovery of the mechanics, special moves, etc. is half the fun (and challenge) of a good fighter. Did we get tutorials for the Street Fighters, Mortal Kombats, Neo-Geo fighters, and other games of our youth? Nope! Many of the games I grew up with were hard as balls, and that's just the way I liked 'em. No hand holding. Just repeatedly got my ass handed to me by the "pros" of the arcade and I lost a lot of quarters. Now get off my lawn!